By: Mahrukh Fatima, LL.B P-4, Pakistan College of Law, Lahore Pakistan 

Introduction

Human trafficking is widely recognized as the second largest criminal industry worldwide and a fast-growing transnational organized crime, aptly addressed in the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its supplementing Protocols. Indeed, it is a fast-growing black market industry throughout the planet: no country is immune from this criminal enterprise. It affects communities across the board, on a micro- and macro-level, be they countries of origin, transit or destination. People have fallen and are still falling into modern-day slavery in appalling numbers. It is estimated that up to 27 million people in the world today are under some form of human trafficking¹.

This issue focuses on the identification of international and domestic victims of human trafficking. Critical to identifying someone as a victim is knowing first who meets the legal definition of a trafficking victim. The definition as set forth in the, THE PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ACT, 2018 (PTPA) is presented in the insert on this page, and this brief presents the inherent challenges to identifying victims based on this definition, as well as promising strategies undertaken by law enforcement, service providers, and other organizations to identify and reach victims. Trafficking in persons;

• Any person who recruits, harbours, transports, provides or obtains another person, or attempts to do so, for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud or coercion, commits an offence of trafficking in persons and shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to seven years or with fine which may extend to one million rupees or with
• If the offence of trafficking in persons under sub-section (1) is committed against a child or a woman, the person who commits the offence shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to ten years and which shall not be less than two years or with fine which may extend to one million rupees or with both.

The Government of Pakistan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, on its anti-trafficking capacity. These efforts included increasing investigations and prosecutions, and convicting traffickers. The government identified and referred more victims for protection services, and provincial labor departments referred more bonded labor cases to law enforcement. However, the government did not

1 5 KEVIN BALES, DISPOSABLE PEOPLE: NEW SLAVERY IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY 8 (2000).

 

meet the minimum standards in several key areas. There were reports of victims being re-victimized, and corruption continued to hinder anti-trafficking efforts.

Each day, people are tricked, coerced, or forced into exploitative situations that they cannot refuse or leave. Each day, we buy the products or use the services they have been forced to make or offer without realizing the hidden human cost. In all its forms, it is the removal of a person’s freedom — their freedom to accept or refuse a job, their freedom to leave one employer for another, or their freedom to decide if, when, and whom to marry, in order to exploit them for personal or financial gain.

What actually Human Trafficking is?

Human trafficking is considered by many to be a significant human rights challenge in this time of rapid globalization. While historically there have been inconsistencies and disagreement regarding the definition of human trafficking, the legal definition provided by the (PTPA)2018 has become the accepted definition for law enforcement, service providers, and the like.

Critical to this definition is recognizing that while trafficking often involves the movement of people from their own communities and transporting them across borders or within a nation; a victim does not need to be physically transported in order for this crime to fall under the (PTPA) definition. Additionally, there is no requirement for force, fraud, or coercion when the commercial sex act involves a minor or someone under the age of 18.

But what do victims of human trafficking look like? It is important to understand who is vulnerable to this crime in order to know who to look for.

Who actually are Victims of Human Trafficking?

Current stereotypes depict the victim of human trafficking as innocent young girls who are manipulated, lied to, and often kidnapped and forced into prostitution. However, it is not just young girls who are trafficked. Men, women, children of all ages, and legal residents can all fall prey to traffickers, and there are many victims of labor trafficking in addition to sex trafficking.

However, all trafficking victims share common characteristics that make them vulnerable to traffickers. They often come from countries or communities with high rates of crime, poverty, and corruption; lack opportunities for education; lack family support (e.g., orphaned, runaway/thrown-away, homeless, family members collaborating with traffickers); and/or have a history of physical and/or sexual abuse.

Unfortunately, as we are learning from law enforcement, service providers, advocates, and others working to combat this crime, finding these individuals who have been trafficked for the purpose of sex or labor is very difficult; even with definitions in place.

Challenges; in identifying the Victims

Victims of human trafficking face a myriad of daunting challenges that impede their ability to escape exploitation and rebuild their lives. From physical and psychological trauma to legal and

 

social barriers, the road to recovery for victims is often fraught with obstacles. Following are some of the challenges that are to be faced;

·       Nature of the Crime

The most common and perhaps obvious challenge to identifying victims of human trafficking for those in the field is the hidden nature of the crime. Such victims are usually unaware of their rights as victims, do not understand the laws; all factors helping to control the victim and keep the crime (and the victim) hidden. Both international and domestic victims are often kept isolated, with no freedom of movement. Victims become dependent on the trafficker and may not even consider themselves to be victims; another factor making identification difficult.

It was also reported that traffickers rely on a victim’s fear as a way to keep the victim hidden. This includes fear of law enforcement and an inability to trust those in positions of authority.

·       Lack of Awareness

While the hidden nature of the crime is a major obstacle, law enforcement and service providers acknowledge that a lack of awareness of the crime of human trafficking confounds the problem. That is, even if victims were more visible, respondents report that most of the general public would not recognize a victim if they saw one. The experiences in the field suggest that, across communities, most people do not believe that human trafficking exists in today’s society and in particular, in their communities. Even in those areas where attempts have been made to raise awareness, there remains confusion regarding who is a victim.

It was clear that even though awareness of human trafficking has in fact increased such a full and complete understanding of human trafficking remains a challenge.

·       Perceptions of Victims

Two primary reasons given for why victims who come in contact with those who can help them (e.g., law enforcement, shelter providers, and outreach workers) often go unidentified include: 1) victims do not identify themselves as victims; and 2) others do not view victims as victims.

Many victims, do not believe that they are a victim of a crime. This is often due to their lack of education and understanding of human trafficking and their lack of awareness of their rights as a victim. But according to law enforcement and service providers who have worked with victims, victims are also frequently told by their traffickers that they are to blame for their circumstance and that they are the criminals who will be deported or arrested if caught. And due to their past and current experiences, many victims believe this portrayal of reality presented by the traffickers.

In other situations, the victim has come to depend on her trafficker and views the trafficker as her protector or in some cases, boyfriend. Service providers equate this to the Stockholm Syndrome experienced by prisoners of war. In these cases, the victim not only does not see him/herself as a victim, but they do not believe their trafficker has done anything wrong.

 

When a victim does not view him/herself as a victim, the interactions with law enforcement and others trying to help them are often negative and sometimes hostile. According to law enforcement and some shelter providers, this was especially the case with domestic minor victims of sex trafficking.

But it is not only victims that do not always view themselves as victims. Another challenge to identifying victims is the lack of acknowledgement by some law enforcement and service providers that someone is a victim of trafficking. There were examples given of victims who were viewed first as undocumented, or illegal, immigrants and treated as criminals, and subjected to deportation hearings. In other cases, victims were viewed first as prostitutes and charged with solicitation and placed in jail or detention (even in cases involving minors). These cases serve to reinforce the message of traffickers that the victims will be treated as criminals if they come to the attention of authorities, buttresses the perception of victims that they are to blame, and enhances the power and control of traffickers over their victims.

While law enforcement and service providers both acknowledge that more education is needed to address these challenges, they recognize that the solution to this barrier requires something more akin to a paradigm shift in how we think and do business.

Law enforcement and service providers fear that many victims are falling through the cracks and going unnoticed. Those in positions to best identify victims may not realize it.

·       Lack of Resources

There has been a lot of criticism of law enforcement and others regarding the relatively small number of victims of human trafficking that have been identified to date in relation to the estimates of victims that exist. In addition to the challenges already identified, all those involved in the study point to a lack of resources as a significant factor limiting their ability to identify significant factor limiting their ability to identify victims. This includes limited officers to investigate cases and interview potential victims; limited resources for direct outreach by service providers and advocates to educate and identify potential victims; and limited resources for targeted training and ongoing technical assistance to those agencies in positions to help law enforcement identify potential cases and victims.

·       Difficult in Reintegrating into Society

Victims of human trafficking often find it challenging to reintegrate into society due to various factors; as Stigma and Shame, victims may feel ashamed or stigmatized by their experience, leading to reluctance to seek help or disclose their past. This can hinder their ability to access support and resources. Another reason is a trust issue that victims experienced betrayal and exploitation by those they trusted, making it difficult for them to trust others or form new relationships. Without adequate support system, including housing, employment assistance and counseling, victims may struggle to navigate the complexities of reintegration. Addressing these challenges requires comprehensive support services, including trauma-informed therapy, social support networks, legal advocacy, and economic empowerment programs tailored to the needs of victims.

 

Identifying Human Trafficking Victims: Legal and Policy Framework

According to the Constitution of Pakistan, slavery, forced labor, and trafficking in human beings are prohibited and the state is required to take necessary steps to protect people, especially women and children, from all forms of exploitation. For example, Article 11 of the Constitution proclaims:

1. Slavery is non-existent and forbidden and no law shall permit or facilitate its introduction into Pakistan in any form.
2. All forms of forced labor and traffic in human beings are
3. No child below the age of fourteen years shall be engaged in any factory or mine or any other hazardous employment.

Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance 2002

“The ordinance defines a child as a person who has not attained the age of 18 years”².“Coercion is the use of force, violence, physical restraint, deception, fraud, or acts or circumstances not necessarily including physical force but calculated to have the same effect, such as the credible threat or infliction of serious harm.”³

“Human trafficking is obtaining, securing, selling, purchasing, recruiting, detaining, harbouring or receiving a person, not withstanding his implicit or explicit consent, by the use of coercion, kidnapping, abduction, or by giving or receiving any payment od benefit or sharing or receiving a share for such person’s subsequent transportation out of or into Pakistan by any means whatsoever for any of the purposes mentioned in Section 3.”⁴

Section 3 states human trafficking shall be punishable when “whoever knowingly plans or executes any such plan for human trafficking into or out of Pakistan for the purpose of exploitative entertainment, slavery or forced labor or adoption in or out of Pakistan shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable for a fine.”⁵

Pakistan like most countries is reluctant to provide trafficked persons with permanent residence permits, and therefore the temporary permit is given only for the period of a trail, the trafficked adult or child has to return home to the same circumstance. Since in many cases of child

trafficking it is the child’s family that sells the child into servitude, returning the child to the same environment will not provide a long-term solution to the problem. The ordinance also does not make provisions for legal aid of the victims.

Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Rules 2004

 

 2 Prevention and control of human trafficking ordinance 2002, Section 2(b)

3 Prevention and control of human trafficking ordinance 2002, Section 2(d)

4 Prevention and control of human trafficking ordinance 2002, Section 2(h)

5 Prevention and control of human trafficking ordinance 2002, Section3(3)

 

This set of rules enables a victim who has been handed over to an NGO for the provision of shelter, medical attention or similar services, to apply to the court if he or she is not satisfied with the services provided by the NGO. If the victim is the child his or her position will be worse. It is therefore important to stipulate that an officer of the court or of any other relevant organization is given the task of trafficking victim shall be handed over to NGOs or shelter homes where they being given proper care.

The government appear to have realized that the safety of the child victims who are returned to their families is not guaranteed. Hence, this set of rules contains a provision which states “the court may, for the welfare of the victim, hand over the custody to any of his blood relation after requiring a bond from the custodian for safe custody of the victim and his production before at the time and place mentioned in the bond and shall continue to produce until otherwise directed.”⁶ Although this will contribute towards ensuring the safety of child trafficking returnees, the disadvantage is that many families may not be able to pay the required bond.

Therefore, court shall ascertain the economic status of the family before determining the amount of the bond.

Penalties are prescribed for NGOs which fail to adequately provide for the needs of the victims of trafficking but are lenient and hardly likely to have a deterrent effect. The penalty is revocation of their notification.

Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act 2018

Keeping in view the limitations of the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance(PACHTO) and to improve the ranking of Pakistan from Tier 2 Watch List, in 2018, the Government of Pakistan passed two important laws, including the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act (PTPA) 2018,⁷ and the Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Act 2018. The laws are considered effective measures for preventing and combating trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants in Pakistan as there are separate laws now to address both the issues.

Persons trafficked to Pakistan from other parts of the world or persons trafficked for exploitation within Pakistan are now considered as victims of trafficking under the new legislation.

According to the PTPA, trafficking in persons involves “any person who, through the use of force, fraud or intimidation, hires, harbours, transports, supplies or obtains another person or attempts to do so, commits an offense of trafficking in persons.”⁸

The Act further specifies the punishment of the traffickers that the persons involved in trafficking in persons “shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to seven-year or with fine which may extend to one million rupees or with both”, whereas if the offense was committed against a child or a woman “the person who commits the offense shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to ten years and which shall not be less than two years or with fine which may extend to one million rupees or with both.”

 

6 Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Rule 2004, Section 3(3)

7 http://www.senate.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1533270017_228.pdf

8 http://www.senate.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1533270017_228.pdf

 

The Act further explains that if the crime involves a serious injury, life threats, illness or death, organized crime, confiscation, or destruction of the travel documents and repetition of the offense by the same offenders against the victims of trafficking in persons, the perpetrators shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to 14 years and which shall not be less than three years and fine which may extend to two million rupees. The rules for the implementation of the PTPA were notified by the Government of Pakistan in October 2020, called the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Rules 2020.⁹

Pakistan penal code 1860

Several laws were enacted to address offenses connected to trafficking in persons before the adoption of the specific anti-trafficking laws. For instance, the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC)’s sections discussion of some aspects of internal trafficking:

1. Trafficking by way of kidnapping or [Section 359-366]. Procuration of minor girl [Section 366-A]
2. Importation of a girl from a foreign country [Section 366-B]
3. Kidnapping or abducting in order to subject the person to grievous hurt, slavery [Section 367]
4. Buying or disposing of any person as a slave [Section 370]
5. Habitual dealing in slaves [Section 371]
6. Selling minors for purposes of prostitution, [Section 372]
7. Buying minors for purposes of prostitution, [Section 373]
8. Unlawful compulsory labor [Section 374].

Identifying Human Trafficking Victims: Initiatives Taken by FIA

Trafficking in persons for forced labor, domestic servitude and prostitution is a crime that ruthlessly exploits human beings, especially women and children. As a developing country, Pakistan has not been able to provide satisfactory living standards to its citizens. The government maintained protection efforts. According to Statistics, the government reported identifying 35,309 trafficking victims, compared with 21,253 trafficking victims in 2021. These included 29,334 victims of sex trafficking, 3,118 of forced labor, and 2,857 of unspecified forms of trafficking; and included 25,919 women, 6,199 men, 2,510 boys, 309 girls, 368 children where the gender was unknown and four unspecified victims.¹⁰

The agencies within the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) work together to intercept individuals involved in various activities, including human trafficking, illegal border crossings, smuggling, and other security-related offenses. Their collaborative efforts aim to maintain law and order, safeguard national security, and protect the well-being of the public.

 

9 https://www.fia.gov.pk/files/rules/1659902422.pdf

10 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Pakistan

 

Solutions regarding Human Trafficking

• Amend the trafficking ordinance to provide comprehensive protection to victims of trafficking, such-as camera testimony and witness protection;
• Make the provision of basic assistance such-as shelter, medical care and legal aid to victims of trafficking mandatory;
• Enact laws to provide compensation for child victims of trafficking and its end products;
• All national laws must be amended and harmonized and brought in line with the international definition of a child as a person under the age of 18;
• Draft laws to criminalize the various forms of exploitation that are end products of trafficking, such-as pornography;
• Consult child labourers prior to drafting legislation regarding child labour to ensure the needs and concerns of the group most affected by legislation is taken into account and child sensitive laws are formulated;
• Strengthen implementing and monitoring mechanism;
• Institute more programs for the prevention of trafficking by addressing the factors that cause migration in the first place. Increasing the years of compulsory education or providing more job opportunities in rural areas themselves would prevent some of the children becoming prey to traffickers;
• Addressing long-term vulnerabilities of trafficked women and girls is extremely important to protect them from re-victimization. The government should develop a comprehensive strategy for rehabilitation and reintegration of trafficked women and girls into mainstream society. Only short-term protection is not enough.
• A significant number of trafficked women and girls are There is hardly any information available on how women and girls survive trafficking in long-run. Therefore, a study should be conducted to highlight factors that help victims survive trafficking.
• Also, Government initiatives have played a critical role in combating human The implementation of stronger laws and policies to protect victims and prosecute traffickers is a step in the right direction.
• Increasing awareness of the issue is an essential way to empower people to identify and report By highlighting the signs of trafficking and educating the public about the issue, we can make it easier for victims to come forward and get help they need.

Conclusion

It has been shown that there are numerous social injustices, injustices ingrained in a patriarchal society, strongly rooted customs, and traditions that don’t even perceive internal trafficking as a crime against women and society. The elements that encourage trafficking in are poverty, illiteracy, financial gain, and criminal intent on the part of the traffickers.

Additionally, a pitiful percentage of reporting trafficking occurrences and insufficient enforcement of the current anti-trafficking laws encourage this threat to persist unchecked. It is concluded that a number of causes support this horrible business. Woman from very low socioeconomic backgrounds are particularly vulnerable to exploitation because of their

 

illiteracy, ignorance, and exposure to the worst forms of social injustice, crimes against humanity, excessive brutality against women’s rights, and overall illegals.